Flare rack assembly



Oct. 8, 1968 N. M. RAY 3,404,782

FLARE RACK AS SEMBLY Filed Jan. 16, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 m/afifiwy INVENTOR Mama/ 75 Fwy ATTORNEYS 3,404,782 FLARE RACK ASSEMBLY Nicolas M. Ray, 61 E. 86th St., New York, N.Y.

Filed Jan. 16, 1967, Ser. No. 609,424 5 Claims. (Cl. 21149) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A flare rack assembly for holding and releasing a plurality of flare canisters is provided with a non-riveted, integrally formed head portion which locks flares within the assembly for ultimate release by known electrical releasing means. The improved structure withstands vibrations and eliminates the danger of premature release or explosion of flares.

The foregoing abstract is not intended to describe the scope of this invention and is only intended to permit a cursory review of the gist of the invention.

Brief description of the invention This invention relates to an improved flare rack assembly for flares, and in particular, the invention is concerned with providing an improved assembly which can be easily manufactured to meet Defense Department requirements while at the same time eliminating a danger of structural disassociation which has existed in prior assemblies of this type.

It is known to provide rack assemblies which can be utilized to carry a plurality of flare canisters in aligned and locked positions for ultimate release from the assembly by electrical releasing means. Such assemblies are an essential part of present day military ordnance inventories, and in use, flare canisters may be sequentially released and exploded from the assemblies when carried by airplanes or helicopters. The Defense Department has established certain standards of manufacture for military assemblies of this type, and one important standard re quires that the assembly meet vibration tests which simulate intended handling and usage of flare racks in military environments. Prior assemblies have provided for the necessary locking and releasing features of the rack and have, at the same time, attempted to meet the standard for withstanding vibration, by riveting plates together to form a head portion of the rack which supports and releases individual flare canisters. However, it has been found that even with an excessive amount of riveting in the head portion of the assembly, there is still a real possibility of structural disassociation of plates when the assembly is vibrated in a certain way. This presents a danger that the flares may discharge or explode prematurely, and even while being handled or carried within an aircraft vehicle, thus endangering lives and equipment in use.

The present invention is directed to an improved technique for manufacturing an improved flare rack which meets all Defense Department requirements, while completely eliminating the danger of structural disassociation of the head portion of the rack. In accordance with the invention, the head portion of the rack is formed integrally, and without the use of riveted plates, and there is substantially no possibility of vibrations affecting the locking and releasing of flares in the improved rack. Also, the present invention provides for a key slot in the integrally formed head for receiving a required key member which functions to lock a plurality of flares in aligned positions within the rack. The provision of a key slot and key member is a conventional requirement for such assemblies, however, this requirement was also the reason for prior assemblies adapting a riveted plate arrangement for the head portions. The present invention "ice has overcome the problems of meeting all requirements for an acceptable flare rack, and further, has provided a much safer assembly than heretofore contemplated for such devices.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the more detailed discussion below, and in that discussion reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an outside perspective view of a typical flare rack construction of the type proposed by this invention, showing a cut-away portion for illustrating typical electrical connections which can be made for releasing and operating individual flares contained with the rack;

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional elevation of a head portion of a flare rack as constructed in accordance with prior art practices;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational cross sectional view, corresponding to the view shown in FIGURE 2 but illustrating the improved head portion construction of the present invention, the view being taken at lines 3-3 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view taken at a longitudinal cross section taken at lines 4-4 of FIGURE 1 to illustrate the position of a key within the rack; and

FIGURE 5 is a bottom plane view on a reduced scale taken at lines 55 of FIGURE 4 to illustrate a plurality of openings for receiving flares into the rack.

Detailed description of invention Flare racks of the type contemplated by the improvement of the present invention generally include a container or housing 10, as shown in FIGURE 1, for holding and releasing a plurality of flares from canisters. The container is closed on all sides and on its top, leaving an open bottom portion for releasing flares from their spaced positions within the rack. Such assemblies are constructed from various metal materials, such as aluminum alloys, and it is necessary to provide a strong rack construction which will withstand normal military usage and which will further withstand certain types of vibrations encountered in expected handling and transportation of the flare racks. Flare racks having the configuration and general characteristics, as shown in FIGURE 1, are well known in the art, and in a typical construction, a head portion 12 of the rack is formed to receive and support a plurality of flares in aligned positions. The flares are positioned within the rack with their longitudinal axes extending up and down the rack as viewed in FIGURE 1, and a typical arrangement will accommodate eight flares aligned in spaced positions in two rows inside the rack assembly. Electrical connections and actuating devices, indicated generally at 14, are provided to control the release of flares from the rack in usage. The flares may be released sequentially, in accordance with a predetermined pattern, or they may be all released simultaneously by the electrical control devices 14. Such control means and the connections therefore are not a part of the present invention, and any well known connections and switching devices may be utilized for accomplishing the desired release and actuation of individual flares from a rack of the type illustrated.

FIGURES 2 through 4 illustrate cross sectional portions of flare rack assemblies to show details of the head portions of such assemblies where individual flare canisters are supported within the rack. Each flare canister may contain one or more flares which can be released therefrom, and each canister includes a head portion which can be locked into the rack for supporting the flares and for making electrical contact which is needed to release the flares. In the illustrations, the flare canisters 16 have been illustrated in dotted lines only, but it is to be understood that the flare canisters are generally cylindrical in shape and include head portions which can be received into downwardly directed circular openings 18 which are formed within the head portion 12 of the rack. The number of circular openings 18 will correspond to the number of flare canisters which are to be carried within a particular rack assembly, and this number may be varied. The head portion 12 of the flare rack also includes upwardly directed openings 20 which are formed to receive electrical contacting devices 22 (see FIGURE 1). Although the downwardly directed openings 18 and the upwardly directed openings 20 may be formed in separate steps, it will be appreciated that when both openings are completed, there is formed a complete passageway through the head portion 12 of the rack assembly. Thus, the head portion 12 of a rack assembly normally includes rows of spaced openings which pass completely through the head portion and which are formed with particular configurations to (a) receive electrical contacting and actuating devices, and (b) to receive and support flare canisters for holding the same in contact with the control devices just mentioned.

FIGURES 2 and 3 compare a prior art type of assembly with an assembly of the present invention. Since it is necessary to provide for a support of individual flare canisters 16 within a flare rack and to also provide for a particular rotational alignment of each canister within its respective openings in order to properly make contact with the control devices 14 and 22, the openings 18 have required devices to align and lock the canisters into their respective positions. The problems of aligning and locking have been overcome by providing flat marginal portions on the otherwise circular heads of individual flare canisters, and flat members are provided Within the openings 18 to mate with the flattened marginal portions of the flare heads. In the prior art illustration of FIGURE 2, segments 22 are shown as being riveted, or otherwise aflixed, within the openings 18, and the segments 22 include flat surfaces for mating with corresponding surfaces on a flare canister head. In addition, a slot is for-med throughout the length of the head portion 12 for receiving a key member 24, and as further illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5, the key member 24 functions to lock the canisters into the openings by contacting grooves provided on the heads of individual flare canisters. The cooperation of the segments 22 with the flat edges of the key member 24 provide for a proper alignment and locking of canisters within a flare rack so that correct contact is made with whatever electrical and control devices are installed within the openings 20. Further, the key member 24 serves to lock the flare canisters into position until they are ready to be recharged or changed. In order to provide a slot within which the key member 24 may be received, it has been the practice in the prior art to form the head member 12 as shown in FIGURE 2 and to rivet a plate 26 onto the bottom face of the head member to provide for an opening between a bottom edge 28 of the head member and an upper surface 30 of the plate 26. However, it is a requirement that flare racks withstand certain types of vibrations which are encountered in normal handling and transportation of the racks, and therefore, it has been necessary to utilize a great number of rivets through the plate 26 in order to secure the plate to the head portion 12. In practice, it has been found that even a great number of rivets do not accomplish a totally sound construction for the head portion of the rack, and there have been instances where head portions have become disassociated by continual vibrations which cause the plate 26 to separate from the head portion 12. The possibility of a separation of the parts making up a head portion presents a real danger in handling and supporting flare racks, because such a separation may result in a premature release or explosion of individual flares.

Referring to FIGURE 3, the present invention provides for an integrally formed head portion 12 which also includesa necessary slot to receive the key member 24. Although such an integral structure would seem to be desirable at the outset to a casual observer, it has not been possible to overcome the manufacturing ditficulties of meeting all Defense Department requirements for flare racks in an integral structure which also provides for the necessary alignment and locking features obtained with the key member 24. However, the present invention has devised a technique for forming all necessary structures in a flare rack head poriion, and the resulting flare rack assembly is vastly improved over any prior art type assemblies. In particular, there is no danger at all of important segments of the head portion 12 becoming disassociated from one another in such a way as to present a potential danger of flare release and explosion.

In accordance with the present invention, the head assembly 12 is formed from a blank as an integral struc' ture, and the openings 18 and 20 are formed therethrough by conventional methods. A key way is then provided through the length of the integral segment 32 by milling a slot into the segment from the direction of its outer surface 34. The direction of initial milling is illustrated by an arrow in FIGURE 3. After the slot has been initially milled to a requisite depth for providing an upper surface for the slot, additional milling is perfomed in lateral directions along each side of the slot so as to form the T-shaped opening which is illustrated. This provides a key way slot 33 throughout the whole length of the flare rack for receiving the necessary key member 24. Although the key slots may be used with the bottom portion thereof left open from the initial milling step (as shown in FIGURE 3) it is contemplated that the key slot can be closed off by inserting a strip of metal material into the opening which remains through the bottom surface 34 adjacent to the key way slot. Again, this would appear to be a normal way of closing off and sealing an opening, but initial experiments encountered a difliculty in welding metal strip material into an opening adjacent to a key slot for a flare rack. Because of the necessity for maintaining precise tolerances throughout the whole flare rack assembly, the attempts to weld metal material to any portion of the assembly resulted in distortions and material losses which defeated the tolerance requirements for the completed assembly. It has been found in practicing the present invention that the opening which is initially milled through the integral segment 32 can be closed off by utilizing a strip of material which is identical in composition to the material making up the remainder of the head portion 12. The strip of material is fitted into a precise position within the opening and is then welded by an electron beam welding method to provide a complete blending of materials between the inserted strip and the side walls of the opening which is to be closed. Electron beam welding devices are not a part of the present invention, however, such devices provide for a bonding of identical materials without any apparent loss of material along the weld line and without heat production which would adversely distort or warp adjacent portions of the head assembly. The improved head portion of the flare rack assembly has the additional advantage of providing a closed slot having closer tolerances than was possible with the manufacture of prior assemblies. With the present invention, the effective clearance of a key within a slot is .003". In the prior art devices, this clearance was as high as .033". The loads imposed by vibration on the flares held in the rack increase with the clearance between the key and the slot, since it is this clearance which permits the kinetic energy, of the moving flares to be transformed into shock loads on the rack frame. Reduction of the clearance will reduce the impact transmitted to the frame by the vibrating load. Thus reduction of impact loads by diminishing the clearance between the key and the slot is an important improvement provided by this invention.

FIGURES 4 and 5 illustrate the relationship of canisters within a flare rack to one another and to the key member 24 which is formed through the head portion 12 of the rack. In addition to the above described structural features, it is to be understood that side wall casing plates and a cover plate member may be secured to the head portion 12 by riveting or by any other suitable securing means. The outside casing plates are not required to withstand the same vibration tests required for the head portion since there is no problem of a disassociation of such plates having any real effect upon the positioning and actuating of individual flares within the rack. In addition to the improved resistance to vibration, the improved head portion of the flare rack assembly reduces the weight of the flare rack by substituting aluminum all-y for prior uses of stainless steel material. The weight saving is approximately /2 pound for a typical flare rack assembly.

' Thus, the presentinvention provides for a substantially improved flare rack assembly wherein a head portion of the assembly is formed as an integral structure which cannot become destroyed by vibrations of the assembly. A technique has been provided for forming such a head portion while still meeting all Defense Department requirements for flare rack assemblies. Although the invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment, it will become apparent that certain variations from this embodiment are possible, and such variations are intended to be included within the scope of this invention. Also, it is contemplated by this invention that the eliminaion of sharp corners in the improved head which receives and supports flares avoids stress concentration eflects, and this is a part of the invention. The embodiment which has been described discusses an assembly having only two rows of canister receiving openings, however, a greater or lesser number of openings may be provided, and key slots which are formed into integral head portions may accommodate only single openings in the head, with a separate slot for each opening, if desired.

What is claimed is:

1. In a flare rack assembly which includes a head portion for supporting a plurality of flare canisters, together with means for reelasing flares from the canisters, the improvement in said head portion comprising:

a plurality of openings in said head portion for receiving and supporting individual flare canisters, and including means within said openings for aligning said canisters into said openings for proper contact with actuation means which release flares from the canisters,

a key member means for contacting portions of said canisters to lock said canisters into said openings, and

a slot formed into an integral segment of said head portion for receiving the key member into said slot into a contacting relationship with the canisters installed within the openings.

1. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said flare rack includes two or more rows of openings for receiving flare canisters and wherein a single key'slot is provided between adjacent rows, whereby a single key member may function to lock all canisters of adjoining rows into the rack.

3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein said slot is formed by milling inwardly through said integral segment of said head portion and then laterally outwardly therefrom to form a T-shaped slot which enters each of said openings in adjacent rows of openings in said flare rack.

4. The improvement of claim 3 wherein said T-shaped slot is closed off with a strip of material which is identical to the material from which said head portion is formed.

5. The improvement of claim 3 wherein said slot is milled to a close tolerance to reduce clearance between the slot and a key which is inserted into the slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,337,243 12/1943 Hutaff 224-l.5 XR 2,813,746 11/1957 Goldsmith et al.

22445l.5 XR 3,137,938 6/1964 Arrighini 29558 ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner. 

